You’re Dating a Narcissist! (2026) Movie Review: A Sharply Comforting Anti-Rom-Com

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When Marisa Tomei looks at you and says, “You’re dating a narcissist,” you won’t be blamed for being predisposed to that diagnosis. With that name of a film, you know quirk is the least you’re gonna get. Ann Marie Allison’s directorial debut, “You’re Dating a Narcissist,” is a sharp anti-rom-com, wrapped in the comforting brace of a rom-com. It’s zany, occasionally hilarious, occasionally cringeworthy—and frequently both at once. To top it off, an electrifyingly committed Marisa Tomei guides you through the stages of recognizing a narcissist.

Tomei plays Judy Kaplan, a New York-based psychologist-cum-professor. Judy acts as a therapist who constantly warns the woman in her vicinity to be wary of narcissistic men–or women, but mostly men. She is a true relationship-doomsayer. Most men would channel their inner Grima Wormtongue and dub her a herald of woe, too. Yet her warnings prove true, emboldening Judy to call out every womanizer. The womanizer could be a woman, too. Just like the married woman, Judy’s best friend Diane (Sherry Cola) is dating. Despite Judy’s profuse warnings, Diane cannot seem to cut ties.

Judy knows the signs because she has lived the life of manipulation and deceit. Her ex-husband has made her ready to spot the toxic signs. Her experience with that man has made her the expert that she is at her craft. So much so that she has written a book titled “You’re Dating a Narcissist!” Yes, the title of the film.

Her expertise is put to the ultimate test when she learns that her young daughter, Eva (Ciara Bravo), is set to tie the knot with a guy she met six weeks ago. Theo, the guy Eva is engaged to, is a doctor and seemingly a stand-up guy, with ‘seemingly’ being the keyword. Judy, for good reasons, freaks out. She takes the next flight to Southern California to meet with Eva and to intervene. Of course, she takes a heartbroken Diane with her.

Written by Allison and Jenna Milly, the film’s heart is Judy. She could be irritatingly domineering. Her cynicism for everything romantic is perhaps overblown, but it is not unwarranted. She does go through several embarrassingly icky situations that one could say were long overdue. Especially with her penchant to turn even the most common conversation into a long tirade focusing on her ‘Narc’ (short for Narcissist in this case) theory. The story dangles the possibility that she, herself, could be narcissistic. Despite that, you want her to be proven right, for she espouses nothing that cannot be traced to the truth of the general toxicity of many men in most relationships.

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Armed with a vocabulary of “love bombing,” “gaslighting,” and “breadcrumbing,” Allison and Milly have prepared Judy for battle. It proves to be a difficult one, as Eva’s impending marriage to Theo acts as the proverbial immovable object. Judy, meanwhile, struggles to activate her “unstoppable force” mode, constantly thwarted by Eva—and by Diane, who remains trapped by her toxic ex’s breadcrumbing.

Judy’s tendency to view the world exclusively through a “Narc-trapping” lens could easily exhaust the audience, just as it does Eva and Diane. However, it is nearly impossible to find Marisa Tomei’s screen presence irritating. Consequently, Judy earns a pass most of the time. Despite these minor reservations, Judy’s dogged nature and the audience’s collective desire to see her vindicated ultimately trump any narrative pitfalls.

I would argue the film is an “anti-rom-com,” as it consistently subverts traditional romantic tropes. Through its “narc-trapping” lens, the movie encourages you to revisit famous cinematic love stories, potentially ruining those nostalgic memories. For instance, while John Cusack holding a boombox over his head is often seen as the ultimate grand gesture, this film’s aversion to such displays might change how you perceive it.

However, despite this cynical edge, it remains a rom-com at its heart. It retains a sense of comfort, though it isn’t the romance between lovers that keeps us afloat in Allison and Milly’s script. Instead, it is the love, the banter, and the shared moments between the central women. Whether it is the mother-daughter arc of Judy and Eva or the rock-solid sisterhood between Judy and Diane, “You’re Dating a Narcissist” feels like a rom-com because of them. Alongside Marisa Tomei, Sherry Cola, and Ciara Bravo deliver excellent supporting performances.

Cola’s Diane provides genuine comedic relief, often undercutting Tomei’s passionate rants with deadpan reactions or dumbfounded objections. Her crestfallen, yet hilarious, admission when Judy brands her as her toxic ex’s “secondary supply” is truly something to behold. Cola forges a fantastic partnership with Tomei, and the film—with its strong female lens—is better for it. “You’re Dating a Narcissist” is a “woman’s film” first: a story where women stand by one another while the men prove to be little more than toxic bystanders. Men should probably like it, too—unless they want to risk being branded a “narc” by Marisa Tomei.